The Graduate School of Economics, Finance, and Management (GSEFM) – based in the House of Finance at Goethe University Frankfurt – constitutes an alliance between Goethe University Frankfurt, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, and Technische Universität Darmstadt. Operating in Continental Europe's primary center for financial markets and central banking, GSEFM aims to realize the three universities' joint vision to establish a premier European center for quantitative and research-oriented graduate-level education in economics, finance, and management.

GSEFM offers a rich palette of programs, all of them featuring the structure of premier anglo-saxon research-oriented graduate programs, and at the same time adding the interdisciplinary and inter-institutional wealth of Goethe University Frankfurt, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, and Technische Universität Darmstadt.

Compelling for its strong empirical focus, the Ph.D. Program in Economics offers a two-year cycle of doctoral-level courses developed specifically to transmit a rigorous methodological framework in the three core areas of economics (microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics), complemented by studies of the normative and historical foundations of economics, and followed by courses designed to expose students to the research frontier in a variety of fields of specialization (development and international economics, econometrics, finance, law and economics, macroeconomics, management, marketing, and microeconomics). As the largest program within GSEFM, the overarching objective of the Ph.D. Program in Economics is to produce outstanding economists capable of taking leading positions in academia or serving as experts in international institutions, government, and the private sector.

Compelling for its in-depth coverage of both issues in asset pricing and corporate finance, the Ph.D. Program in Finance offers a two-year cycle of doctoral-level courses developed specifically to transmit a rigorous methodological framework in the core areas of finance as well as selected core areas of economics (econometrics and either microeconomics or macroeconomics). Students in the Ph.D. Program in Finance can select from a broad range of second-year field courses designed to expose the students to the research frontier in their fields of specialization, including but not limited to Finance. Graduates from the Ph.D. Program in Finance are expected to find excellent job opportunities in both academia and the financial industry.

Known for its in-depth coverage of marketing analytics, the Ph.D. Program in Marketing offers a two-year cycle of doctoral-level courses developed specifically to learn on how to work empirically with interesting and mostly proprietary data sets to better understand consumers’ decision making and how to improve firms’ marketing decisions. Past doctoral students nowadays have tenured appointments at prestigious universities such as London Business School (UK), Vienna University of Economics and Business (Austria), LMU Munich (Germany) or University of Muenster (Germany), which clearly outlines that graduates from the Ph.D. Program in Marketing have excellent job opportunities in academia but also in the industry.

This program (that is part of the Research Training Program "Law and Economics of Money and Finance") is targeted at those who wish to specialize in research at the interface of law and economics, and offers a two-year interdisciplinary course program. In the light of the interdisciplinary approach, a variety of courses on Law and Economics taught by professors from Goethe University as well as renowned international scholars are offered. The course program also features a number of courses from the Ph.D. Program in Economics and the Ph.D. Program in Finance, combining these with law and economics course offerings, and thus enabling students to work in interdisciplinary research teams at the interfaces of law, economics, and finance. In addition to the course program, the research work is accompanied by doctoral workshops, conferences and seminars to enable the students to further their knowledge in specialized areas and to discuss their work with renowned national and international scholars. The Doctorate / Ph.D. Program in Law and Economics enables its graduates to take on challenging positions in academia or to serve as international experts specifically on issues related to market regulation.

MSQ Programs

The research-oriented Master Programs in Quantitative Economics, Quantitative Finance, Quantitative Marketing, and Law and Quantitative Economics, collectively called MSQ Programs, are unique in that their first-year students participate in the same set of analytically rigorous and quantitatively oriented courses in economics, finance, law and economics, management, and/or marketing that are taken by the first-year Ph.D. Program students. Students who complete the first year of the MSQ Program with strong success have the option and are strongly encouraged to join the GSEFM Ph.D. Program in their area of concentration. Other students in their second year in the MSQ Program have the option to enroll in courses with an emphasis on policy issues and/or on issues of implementation. Students leaving GSEFM with a terminal Master degree will be in a strong position to serve as analytical experts in international institutions, government, or the private sector.

Environment Conducive to Frontier Research

After completing their coursework, students in the Ph.D. Programs at GSEFM are expected to carry out innovative research, gaining immensely from an environment which includes structured interaction with their peers as well as with faculty, includes participation in research networks either organized by or contributed to by GSEFM faculty members, includes conference presentations and discussions, as well as research stays with faculty elsewhere who are leaders in a student's area of research. Students benefit not only from GSEFM's location in Continental Europe's financial hub, but also from the faculty's linkages to policy-making institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the Deutsche Bundesbank, giving them the chance to engage in frontier research on substantive issues.

A Distinguished Body of Faculty Members

GSEFM's faculty members have a wide range of teaching and research experience at various excellent universities and public institutions in Europe as well as the United States. GSEFM's faculty members are involved in key international research networks, and have published in journals such as American Economic Review, Econometric Theory, Economic Journal, International Economic Review, Journal of Applied Econometrics, Journal of Econometrics, Journal of Economic Theory, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Finance, Journal of International Economics, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of the European Economic Association, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of Economic Studies, and Review of Economics and Statistics.

A Highly Talented and Vibrantly Diverse Student Body

The majority of the applicants to GSEFM's degree programs achieves scores in the highest percentiles of the quantitative part of the benchmark tests for graduate student admissions worldwide, the GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) and the GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test). A number of incoming students have turned down offers of admission from prestigious research-oriented graduate programs worldwide. Currently there are approximately 250 students in the GSEFM degree programs, of whom approximately one third are female and more than half are international students, hailing from five continents and more than 40 countries, including Argentina, Armenia, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Egypt, France, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Korea, Kyrgysztan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom, Ukraine, the United States, and Uzbekistan.

Excellent Placement Record

Graduates of GSEFM will be capable of taking on research positions at fine academic institutions, or – through their ability to grasp and manage complex economic and financial issues – of serving as experts in the private sector or in international and national government institutions. While GSEFM is still a rather young institution, past placements include Birmingham University, Cambridge University, Columbia University, INSEAD, Oxford University, University of Amsterdam, Xiamen University, International Monetary Fund, Bank of Israel, European Central Bank, Deutsche Bundesbank, Federal Reserve System, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Ifo Institute, Allianz Investment Management, BlackRock, Deutsche Bank, and Helaba.

A Welcoming Atmosphere

The GSEFM Academic Records and Student Services Offices strive to give students dedicated assistance – including "arrival-survival" in the initial weeks – so that students can focus on succeeding in their studies and academic pursuits. Ongoing student support – much of it also involving GSEFM faculty members – includes academic orientation and counseling, grade and transcript issuance, job market assistance, graduation, and alumni relations.

A First-Rate Campus

All of GSEFM’s semester-long classes take place on Campus Westend of Goethe University Frankfurt with some additional blocked-format course offerings also taking place for example at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and at the Deutsche Bundesbank Training Center in Eltville. Goethe University's Campus Westend offers top-notch classroom facilities and office space, including the stimulating research environment in the House of Finance that is ideally suited to taking advantage of peer-group externalities. Beyond being ideally suited for academic interaction, Campus Westend offers an idyllic park-type setting and a rich set of important historic connotations, such as having hosted during their time in Frankfurt the offices of Dwight D. Eisenhower (later elected 34th President of the United States) and John J. McCloy (President of the World Bank before being appointed U.S. High Commissioner for Germany and overseeing the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany).

The GSEFM in the Public View

AACSB, the leading U.S. agency for accrediting business schools, has spotlighted the Graduate School of Economics, Finance, and Management.